It's Gonna Get A Little Weird
by TheStrayCloud
Summary: *SPOILER WARNING* This fic takes place after the events of Face the Music and Weirdmageddon Pt 3. Later chapters also contain spoilers for The Battle for Mewni, so be weary of that as well. Feedback and suggestions are always appreciated I don't own Star vs. the Forces of Evil or Gravity Falls. All rights go to Daron Nefcy and Alex Hirsch respectively. -Liz
1. Chapter 1- It Begins

This fic takes place after the events of Face the Music and Weirdmageddon Pt 3. (except that the twins haven't gone home yet, obviously). Enjoy~

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"Hey, Cloudy... let's... get out of here."

Star flew silently through the night sky, the events of minutes prior flashing through her mind. She buried her face in her hands, her cheeks red with embarrassment. How could Ruberiot do this to her? _I knew these stupid princess songs were useless,_ she thought to herself.

Cloudy dropped her off on her balcony, and the blonde princess quickly changed out of the big, poofy dress. She let her hair fall, and looked over at the dress lying limp on the bed, and shuddered as she was reminded of the dreadful event she'd just escaped from. _What should I do now?_

Star really wanted to spill everything to Ponyhead, but she was on Mewni, so that was definitely out of the question. She could call Janna, she thought, but as she took out he phone, she saw exactly how late it was, and Janna had definitely passed out while binging horror movies by now. After a few minutes of thought, Star decided to just go somewhere quiet, where she could have some time alone to think things over. In another dimension, of course.

Star took out Marco's dimensional scissors, and for a moment felt a bit guilty for taking them and essentially stranding him on Mewni. At least she knew he'd be safe in Butterfly castle, and it would help ensure she could have some time away from him. Star shook her head to clear it, and quickly opened up a dark, shadowy portal.

The princess gingerly stepped inside the portal, and instantly found herself tumbling down an empty void. After the initial shock subsided, and she realized that by the looks of it she probably wouldn't be landing any time soon, Star regained her composure. After a few minute's time, she'd almost forgotten that she was actually falling. It felt like she was merely floating, resting delicately atop a silky blanket of nothingness. It really was quite peaceful. Star took this time to reflect on the events of earlier. The princess could only imagine how the citizens of Mewni must see her and her family now that they knew how she'd lost Glossaryck and the spellbook. But of course, she was mostly concerned about Marco, and what she could possibly say to explain herself. Star knew deep down that the last verse Ruberiot had included was all true, but Marco was her best friend! Not only that, but he was officially dating Jackie Lynn Thomas, his crush since preschool. He'd never share feelings for her other than friendship, and now, he might not even want that.

Star let out a defeated sigh, and wiped away a tiny tear, before taking notice to a tiny white speck below her. Star quickly realized that the speck was increasing rapidly in size, and before she know what was happening Star landed with a thud on some soft green grass. The blonde stood up slowly, and as she brushed the grass off, she turned and looked around at her new surroundings. There was dense forest both in front and behind her, and to her right she saw a deep hole in the ground. As she peered one the edge, she saw nothing but darkness. To her left, she saw a small wooden building. Upon close inspection, Star noticed a sign on the roof that read "Mystery Shack." The "s" had fallen off though, and hung loosely on a few shingles. Star came to the conclusion that it was probably some kooky tourist attraction, and decided to see the inside for herself. She knocked on the front door, and at ten only a couple of seconds the Mewman girl was greeted by an oddly enthusiastic old man. "'Hey there, little lady!" he said, in a gruffy, yet inviting voice. "Welcome to the Mystery Shack!"

 **If you like this story, and want to see new updates as soon as they're published, I'd highly recommend going over to my Wattpad account, StrayCloud. I don't check/use this website too often, but I'm very active on there. You can also contact me through iFunny (StrayCloud) and Instagram ( strayclouddraws). Thanks!**


	2. Chapter 2- Step Right Up

The man stepped aside and, with a tip of his hat, a red fez, motioned her in. Star took one step into the shack, and was immediately filled with awe. It was just a crummy gift shop, but it was unlike anything Star had ever seen. Her face now sported an ear-to-ear grin, and she darted about the little shop, ooh-ing and ahh-ing at every t-shirt, bobble head and animal transplant taxidermy. "This is some pretty cool stuff you've got here! I've never even seen this at Quest Buy!" Star exclaimed, eagerly holding up a purple puma shirt. Before the shop owner could say anything, Star noticed a vending machine, and realized she hadn't eaten since lunch yesterday. She was just about to get a candy bar when suddenly the machine swung open to reveal a secret passage, out of which walked out a man, who looked strikingly similar to the shop owner, followed by a boy who looked to be not much younger than Star. The man look almost identical to the first, but thinner and slightly taller. He wore a red turtleneck sweater underneath a tan overcoat, and a black belt stretched across his body like a sash. The boy had a dark blue vest over a plain orange shirt, and he had a blue and white baseball cap with a pine tree on it. He seemed intent on following the man until he noticed Star, and he paused to look at her. "Grunkle Ford, can I catch up with you later?" he said, addressing the man. "Sure thing, kiddo, I'll be in town if you need me." And with that, he was gone.

"Well, I'm gonna go watch tv," said the man with the fez. "Keep the customer happy." The boy rolled his eyes, and walked over to Star. "Hi there, my name's Dipper Pines." He extended his hand, which Star shook eagerly. "That guy's my great uncle," Dipper continued, "or as me and my sister Mabel call him, Grunkle Stan."

"I'm Star Butterfly," said Star. "Star Butterfly? That's your actual name?" asked Dipper, eyeing the Mewman. "Mmhm," Star replied. "I'm a magical princess, from another dimension," she said in a sing-song voice, twirling around and waving her wand gracefully. She trailed a small rainbow over her head, posing cutely as little critters danced around her. Until suddenly her cute rainbow burst into flames, and all the little creatures yelped in fear and fled. "Man, I was hoping I'd get it right that time," she said, only half to herself.

Dipper's jaw dropped. "Yo- you're from... another dimension? You can control magic?! You're a PRINCESS?!" he raved, and then his enthusiastic expression suddenly snapped into one of pure respect. He immediately dropped down to one knee, and bowed his head down. "Your Majesty," he said softly. Just then, a brown haired girl walked down the stairs, and Star assumed this was this sister Dipper had mentioned earlier. "Hey, bro-bro" said the girl, confirming Star's thoughts. "What are you doing?"

"Mabel!" Dipper exclaimed, looking at his sister while still keeping his head low, "She's a princess! Show some respect!"

Instead of following her brother's orders, Mabel gasped, adopting a similar expression as Star's when she first saw the gift shop. Mabel rushed over to Star, speaking a mile a minute.

"Oh my gosh you're a real princess?! I can't believe it an actual princess, do you have a pet unicorn and live in a castle where everything's made out of diamonds and oh my gosh, is that a magic wand?!" Mable squealed, eagerly pointing at Star's wand.

"You betcha, bonafide magic wand right here," Star said, showing it to the eager girl. "Oh it's so pretty- hey what happened here?" Mabel said, pointing to the broken half of the star crystal embedded in the wand.

"Oh, that," Star said quietly, looking at the ground, "it's a long story."

 **If you like this story, and want to see new updates as soon as they're published, I'd highly recommend going over to my Wattpad account, StrayCloud. I don't check/use this website too often, but I'm very active on there. You can also contact me through iFunny (StrayCloud) and Instagram ( strayclouddraws). Thanks!**


	3. Chapter 3- Friends You Haven't Met

"So... yeah. That's pretty much everything that happened since I came to Earth."

The Pines twins could do nothing but stare, dumbfounded at the Mewman princess. "Okay, wait wait wait," Dipper said, trying desperately to understand all this new information. "So this... Toffee guy, he's like super evil, and he just can't die?!"

"He's a Septarian, so he's immortal and can always regenerate if he loses a limb or something. Except for his one missing finger, not totally sure what that's all about," Star explained. "I know that my mom blasted it off with some crazy powerful spell when she was my age, but I don't know many of the details."

Mabel seemed less interested in the antics of the antagonists Star had mentioned. "Yeah, yeah, that's great," the brunette said quickly. "Now, please," she said, her voice shifting to a much more suave tone, "tell me more about this... _Marco_ you keep talking about."

At the mere mention of his name, Star's cheek emblems seemed to glow a light pink color. "Oh, Marco's my best friend. I've been staying with the Diazes while I was on Earth," she said. "He's just your friend, huh?" Mabel said, obviously not convinced. "From what I hear about your princess song thingy, you want him to be more than just your friend."

Star blushed furiously. "H-hey, I had nothing to do with that!" Star said defensively. "That stupid Ruberiot added his own little snippet without even telling me. Yeah I mean I guess he is... kinda cute... But I mean I think lots of things are cute! Puppies are cute, kittens are cute, tiny peppers are cute-" Star was cut off by Mabel gently placing a hand on her shoulder, and gave her a small smile. "Its okay," Mabel said softly. "I get it." Star sighed and hugged her, resting her chin on the shorter girl's head. Dipper awkwardly stood by as the two girls shared this moment together. "Okay... are you two okay now?" he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Oh yeah, one thing I should tell you about my bro here,"Mabel said, draping an arm around Dipper, "he's _terrible_ when it comes to any kind as interaction with girls, other than me, of course." Star giggled at this, causing the young teen to blush, and he pulled his hat down to come his red face. "C'mon," Mabel said enthusiastically, taking Star by the hand and pulling her towards the stairs. "We still have much to discuss."

"Really?! He actually covered himself with fireworks and launched himself down the stairs just to cheer you up?! He's a keeper for sure," Mabel said with a giggle, gazing up at Star sitting next to her from her upside-down position on her bed. Her hair flowed like a waterfall down to the floor. Dipper was lying on his bed, writing in his journal, and he'd input something in the conversation every once in a while.

"So, tell me Dipper," said Star, twirling her wand in her hand, "what's all the fuss about this journal of yours?" Dipper sat up at once, snapping the book shut and holding it to his chest, almost defensively. "My great uncle Ford, Stan's twin brother, wrote this and two other journals long ago, about his strange findings in this town," Dipper said. "It's truly fascinating."

As if on cue, the bedroom door opened and standing on the other side was Ford. "Hey Dipper, would you mind giving me a hand with-" the older man said, before stopping in his tracks as his gaze settled on Star. "Princess Butterfly," he said, shocked at the sight of the teenage Mewman. He walked over to her, and dipped his head in respect. Star stared blankly at him. "You... know who I am?" she asked, slightly tightening her grip around her wand. Dipper stood up and walked over to his sisters bed, and the two exchanged a glance. Ford gave a slow nod.

"I was known as an interdimensional outlaw during the thirty years I was lost in the void, and I was looking for a place to lay low. At some point in time, I somehow wound up on Mewni," he said, sitting down on the bed next to the two girls. Dipper took a seat as well. "I met King River while he was on one of his expeditions in the Forest of Certain Death," Ford continued, " and he told me that his wife thought he was in some royal conference, something or other, and the two of us got to talking. He invited me to the castle, and introduced me to your mother. They even let me stay in one of the spare rooms for a few months. I held you as a baby, Star," he said, lightly stroking her long blonde hair. "You've grown into a beautiful young lady."

 **If you like this story, and want to see new updates as soon as they're published, I'd highly recommend going over to my Wattpad account, StrayCloud. I don't check/use this website too often, but I'm very active on there. You can also contact me through iFunny (StrayCloud) and Instagram ( strayclouddraws). Thanks!**


	4. Chapter 4- How Convenient

Star traced the crystal in her wand with one finger. "Wow," she said, not looking up from her wand, "That's... I can't believe you know who I am," "More importantly, princess," Ford said, standing up, "what are you doing in Gravity Falls?"

"Oh..." Star said, her face taking on a light pink hue, "I just wanted to get away from Marco for a while. He's my roommate on Earth," she added. "Wait a minute, so you've been to Earth before?" Ford asked. "Yeah, my parents sent me to Earth almost a year ago, to learn how to handle my new wand." Star held up her wand, and Ford examined it closely. "So this is the royal Butterfly magic wand," Ford said, examining it curiously. "What happened to the other half of the crystal?"

"It's a long story," Dipper interjected, hopping off the bed. "If you all will excuse me," he said, straightening his hat, "I've got plans to hang out with Wendy and her friends today. It's been a while since we've been to that old convenience store, so we're gonna go see how it's holding up."

"Who's Wendy?" Star asked. "She works in the Mystery Shack," Mabel said, draping her arm across her brother's shoulders, "and Dipper has a _mad_ crush on her." Dipper's face grew red, and he playfully pushed his sister away from him. "Not anymore, Mabel. She totally shut me down. We're just friends," he said, looking intently at the floor. Star felt a pang of sympathy for the young boy. "I know how you feel," Star said, approaching him. "Mind if I tag along? I don't really have anything to do," Star admitted. "Yeah, sure," Dipper said, cracking a small smile. He opened the door, and gestured for Star to go first. "See you later," Star said to Mabel and Ford. She waved as she left the room, Dipper at her side. "So," Star said, lightly nudging Dipper's shoulder,  
"Tell me about Wendy."

"Oh, Wendy is so cool," Dipper said, his face lighting up at the mention of her name. "Her dad's a lumberjack, and she can do lots of super awesome stunts. She pretty much survived the apocalypse alone, well and Toby Determined. And we fought a shapeshifter together," he boasted as they stepped down the stairs. "She does sound cool!" Star squealed, skipping after Dipper as they walked through the Mystery Shack to the gift shop area. There stood a tall, red haired young woman, putting more Stan bobble heads on a shelf. She immediately lost interest when she spotted the pair of young teens. "Oh hey, Dipper," she said, walking over to them. "Who's your new girlfriend here?" she teased, gesturing toward Star. "Woah, okay, she is NOT my girlfriend," Dipper said, blushing furiously. "She's actually a princess, from another dimension. She's visiting Gravity Falls for... uh... personal reasons," he said, casting Star a quick glance. "Woah, you're a princess?" Wendy said, raising an eyebrow. "That's dope, girl. Well I'm Wendy," she said, holding up her fist to Star. Star awkwardly wrapped her hand around it, causing a confused look from the redhead. "Is it okay if she hangs out with us today?" Dipper asked. "Sure, no problem," Wendy said, slowly pulling her fist out of Star's palm, "She seems pretty cool."

"Welp, here we are."

Star eagerly pressed her face against the fence. "So how do we-" Star started, before looking over as Wendy effortlessly sprang up and over the fence, and all the older teens followed suit, leaving Star and Dipper remaining on the other side. Dipper looked at Star, and cracked his knuckles. "I got this," he said confidently. He threw himself at the fence, and clung there for a few seconds, causing a bit of laughter from the teens on the other side. "Oh far Pete's sake," Star muttered. She grabbed Dipper by the collar of his shirt, pointed her wand at the sky, and quickly shouted, "Bunny Rocket Blast!" Instantly the two of them were in the air, soaring up towards the abandoned building, leaving behind them a trail of pink glitter and bunnies. Dipper screamed and flailed the whole way, until they landed atop the old building. Wendy and the rest of the teens stared, mouths gaping, before Lee started cheering loudly. The rest of the gang followed. Star curtsied, and Dipper awkwardly waved. Star leaped off the ledge of the building, casting a spell that made a small pink umbrella sprout up from her wand, and she gracefully floated down to the others. Dipper face-planted next to her a few seconds later. 

The teens instantly crowded around Star, talking a million miles an hour each. "Alright, alright, I know, my wand is pretty cool," Star flaunted. "So, how are we gonna get in?" Robbie said, folding his arms. "I'm on it," Dipper said, rolling up his sleeves. Star stopped him, stretching out an arm in front of him. The blonde princess narrowed her eyes at the dusty old glass doors of the convenience store. She grabbed her wand with both hands, and held it out in front of her face. "Rainbow fist punch!" Star yelled cheerily, and instantaneously a huge, colorful fist burst our of the wand, and pummeled straight through the doors, shattering them completely. Star skipped inside, and the rest of the group followed.

"So what's the deal with this spooky old place anyway?" Star said, skipping through all the dark and ominous isles of the little store. "Well," said Wendy, approaching the spunky blonde princess, "Last time we were all here, the ghosts of the owners haunted us and tormented us until this guy," she said, putting her arm around Dipper, "scared them off." Dipper's cheeks instantly grew red. Star noticed this, and stifled a small chuckle. "Nice," Star said, ruffling the flustered boy's hat. "Ooh, what's that?" Star hopped over to a small stand with cartoony dogs on it, "Smile dip," she read aloud. "DON'T EAT THAT!" shouted Dipper, rushing over and smacking the small packet out of Star's hand. "Trust me," Dipper said, kicking the packet across the isle, "that stuff is bad news."

 **If you like this story, and want to see new updates as soon as they're published, I'd highly recommend going over to my Wattpad account, StrayCloud. I don't check/use this website too often, but I'm very active on there. You can also contact me through iFunny (StrayCloud) and Instagram ( strayclouddraws). Thanks!**


	5. Chapter 5- Reunion

Just then, there was a faint noise from the back of the store. "Hey, did you guys hear that?" Thompson said meekly, gripping the rails of the Dancy Pants Revolution machine. The teens grouped up and slowly went to investigate in the direction the sound had come from. _I know that sound,_ Star thought to herself, beads of sweat forming on her forehead. "Uh guys," Dipper said, staring intently at the end of the isle. His eyes were wide with fear. The group followed his terrified gaze, and there standing at the other end of the store was a dark, hooded figure of a person. Star pushed her way to the front of the group, and made eye contact with the stranger. There was no power in the building, and it was almost impossible to see anything. Despite the poor lighting, when the person saw Star, their eyes instantly lit up. They rushed at Star, and before anyone could react, they had thrown their arms around the blonde princess, engulfing her in a tight embrace. Tambry turned on her phone's flashlight, and the person was revealed to be a tall brown haired boy, wearing a red hoodie. The room was silent.

"Star..." the boy breathed, not loosening his grip on the blonde, "I was so scared I'd lost you." Star returned the boy's embrace, and the two held each other for a few moments, but to them it felt like an eternity. When they did part, Star's gaze dropped to the dusty tile floor. "Marco..." she whispered, "how did you find me?"

"When you left the castle, I assumed you'd gone home, but I couldn't find my scissors," he said, crossing his arms and glaring at Star, who blushed. "So I had to ask Hekapoo for a new pair. She of course said no, unless I wanted to spend another sixteen years earning them again. So I just borrowed Manfred's," Marco said, pulling out the shiny pair of dimensional scissors. "But when you weren't at the house," he continued, "that's when I really got scared.

"I went back to Mewni and told your mom that I couldn't find you. I told her about the spying spell you used that one time to find Glossaryck, but without your wand it was really hard. Your mom had to really dip down, and I mean really. Her eyes glowed all white and she even levitated off the ground. When we got a clear picture of where you were, your dad saw you talking to some guy, and he said he recognized him. He told us that he lived in Gravity Falls, Oregon, so... that about sums it all up." He pulled Star into another, much gentler hug.

"...don't you ever scare me like that again"

None of the older teens had said a word since Marco had first appeared. Everyone was totally speechless. Dipper finally broke the silence. "Yeah, Mabel was totally right," he said, pointing to Marco with his thumb. "He's a keeper." Marco looked at the group of teens, eyeing each of them before his gaze settled on Dipper. "Who are these people, Star? Do you know them?"

"These are... my new friends..." Star said, motioning to the group. "This is Dipper," she said, who awkwardly smiled. "And Wendy," she said, gesturing to the tall redhead. "Sup," Wendy said, putting her hand on her hip. Marco started blankly at all of them, and then back at Star. He turned to face the older teens, shoving his hands into his pockets. "C-can I, uh," he stammered, looking intently at the ground. "I'd like a minute alone with Star, please."

Dipper tipped his hat downwards, so that it covered his face. He walked outside, Wendy and the other teens following suit. Once they'd all left, Marco and Star were alone in the dark abandoned store. Marco hadn't looked up from the ground. He quickly wiped his eyes with the heel of his palm, before looking up at the princess.

"I was so worried about you, Star," he said, his voice trembling. He lightly took both of her hands in his. "I never want to lose you. You're my best friend." His expression then changed, and he slowly let go of her hands. "But..." he said softly, rubbing the back of his neck, "do you... have a crush on me?"

 **If you like this story, and want to see new updates as soon as they're published, I'd highly recommend going over to my Wattpad account, StrayCloud. I don't check/use this website too often, but I'm very active on there. You can also contact me through iFunny (StrayCloud) and Instagram ( strayclouddraws). Thanks!**


	6. Chapter 6- Star Crushed

"Do you... have a crush on me?"

Despite still being in near-complete darkness, Marco could tell that Star was blushing hard. The two stared into each other's eyes, before Star broke the silence. "Um... no..." Star said, trying to convince herself as much as her friend. "I don't."

"But, the song..." Marco said, rubbing his arm nervously.

"Marco," the blonde said, gently placing a hand on his shoulder, "you're my friend. And I just wanna have an awesome summer, with my friend."

Marco looked at the hand on his shoulder, then back into Star's eyes. A nearby street light flickered on for a split second, and in that split second Star saw a single tear rolling down Marco's cheek. "Then why did you leave, Star?"

Star took her hand off of him, and grabbed hold of her long hair, covering her face with it. She let out a wavering sigh before she spoke.

"I guess," she started, her voice breaking with nerves, "I guess I just got scared that everything would change, and that you didn't want to be friends anymore, and, and..." the princess trailed off, unable to hold back her emotions any more.

Tears streamed down her face, and she was helpless to stop them. Marco extended his arms to her, and she cried softly in the taller boy's embrace. Marco planted a small kiss on her head, running his fingers through her silky, golden blonde hair. He felt a lump rising in his throat... among other things. The two parted, and Star raised a questioning eyebrow at the young Latino. Marco's face turned redder than his hoodie, and he shrugged, giving a sheepish chuckle.

"So," came another voice. "You guys all good?" Star and Marco both looked in the direction the voice had come from, and saw Wendy leaning on a nearby shelf. Marco gulped. "How long have you been there?"

"Chill dude, just like the past minute and a half," she said smoothly. She motioned for the rest of the group, and they walked out from where they'd been in the next isle. They gathered behind Wendy, except for Dipper, who chose to stand right beside her. Wendy glanced at him before returning her gaze to Star and Marco. She looked Marco up and down, closely examining him for the first time. "So, are you gonna like, tell us who you are?"

"I... I'm Marco. Marco Diaz," he said, taking a step towards the taller girl. "I live in Echo Creek, California, with Star. Star's been my best friend since she came to live with us, and when she disappeared, I was worried sick about her," he said, turning once more to look at Star, who bashfully rubbed her shoe on the ground.

"So," Wendy spoke, now addressing the rosy-cheeked princess, "he's got you in the friend-zone. That's rough, girl."

"Oh, no," Star said with a nervous chuckle, "we really are just friends. He has a girlfriend," she added, looking down at her boots as she spoke. Marco gave a slow nod. "Though _technically_ ," Star muttered under her breath, "our souls are bound together for eternity by the magical light of the blood mood," she said all in one breath, "but hey, what do I know."

"Your souls are what by the who now?" Dipper chimed in, crossing his arms. "It's a long story," Star and Marco said in unison. They instantly turned to look at each other.

"Not this again!"

"You stop that!"

They covered their mouths, and looked to see the reactions of the other teens. Everyone stared blankly back at them. From the back, Robbie spoke up, pulling his hoodie over his head.

"Yeah, if they're not soulmates... I don't know what is."

 **If you like this story, and want to see new updates as soon as they're published, I'd highly recommend going over to my Wattpad account, StrayCloud. I don't check/use this website too often, but I'm very active on there. You can also contact me through iFunny (StrayCloud) and Instagram ( strayclouddraws). Thanks!**


	7. Chapter 7- Mabel Syrup

The van pulled up to the Mystery Shack, and Dipper along with Star and Marco stepped out onto the front porch.

"Goodnight, Wendy," Dipper called as the van drove off. Marco smirked at the younger boy. As the trio walked inside, and it seemed Mabel had her friends Candy and Grenda over for the night. The three girls could be heard all the way from downstairs, giggling and laughing loudly. Dipper let out an exasperated sigh. "You two can go in there at your own risk," he said, walking into the living room. "Marco, I'm talking to you."

"Why? I've been to sleepovers with girls before," he said, folding his arms. "Yeah," Dipper said, plopping himself down in front of the TV, "but you don't know Mabel. I can assure you she's not like any girl you've ever met."

"Oh, please," retorted Marco, strolling confidently up the stairs, "I'm sure she can't be that bad."

 _"I regret every decision I have ever made."_

Upon entering the twins' room, Marco was immediately swarmed by the three girls. "Hubbity-hubbuty," Grenda said, checking him out. Candy said something in Korean, her bottom eyelid twitching and a small smile forming on her face. Mabel approached him, walking her fingers up his arm before grabbing him by the shirt collar and pulling their faces dangerously close. "Hey there," she whispered to him, "My name's Mabel, but you can call me the girl of your dreams."

Star gingerly slipped herself in between the two, all but shoving Mabel off of him. "Whoops," she giggled as Mabel stumbled backwards. "Sorry about that. But he's taken," she said, wrapping her arm around his. "Uh, yeah," Marco said, wiping the sweat forming on his forehead. "Property of Jackie Lynn Thomas."

Grenda and Candy both let out defeated sighs before sitting back down on the floor, which was littered with bottles of nail polish, various makeup items, boy band magazines, and glitter. _"Oh,"_ Mabel said, crossing her arms and raising her eyebrows at Star. "I guess you're Marco, then." "Yeah," he said, giving Star an almost frightened look. "I guess you're Mabel."

"Right you are," Mabel said, sitting down on her brother's bed, motioning for Star and Marco to join her. "So what are you doing so far from home?" Marco lightly patted Star's knee, giving her a warm smile. "I came for my best friend." Mable almost swooned. "Such a heart-warming story, oh you two really are too cute!" she said, balling her fists up against her chin. The two older teens chuckled nervously, unable to look at each other. "How long are you gonna stay?" Grenda piped up, calmly braiding Candy's hair. "I'd hate to see you go so soon."

"Oh, uh," Marco said, "I don't know, I was really only here to find Star..." he trailed off, looking at the other girls. They each gave him pleading looks, and he almost wanted to reconsider leaving for home immediately. "Why don't you just stay for the night?" Candy suggested. "It is quite late."

"I guess Mom wouldn't mind..." Marco said with a small shrug. "Hooray!" Grenda cheered, throwing her hands in the air. Candy yelped in pain, as Grenda had forgotten she still had her friend's braid in her hand. "But just for the night."

After much boy-talk, and a makeover for Marco, despite much protest, everyone was tired, and retreated to the bedroom for some much needed rest. Mabel climbed into her bed, and Candy and Grenda rolled out their sleeping bags. Star zapped both herself an Marco with her wand, changing them both out of their regular clothes and into their usual sleepwear, and Marco lied down on Dipper's bed. "Where should I sleep?" Star said, looking around the room. There were no extra sleeping bags, as the two girls had brought their own from home. "Oh, uh..." Mabel pondered for a minute, trying to think of a solution. She was going to suggest that star shared a bed with her, but Mabel's bed was far too cluttered with pillows, blankets, and stuffed animals to fit more than one person. Suddenly a lightbulb seemed to go off in the brunette's head. "Well," she said, her gaze settling on the boy in her brother's bed, "looks like there's plenty of room next to Marco."

At the mention of his name, Marco sat up, and looked at his best friend. "Uh, sure," he said, lifting the covers and scooting closer to the wall. Star sat on the uncovered space next to him, and the rest of the girls settled in. Only Star and Marco were still up, sitting upright and gazing sheepishly into each others' eyes. They slowly lied down under the covers, both looking up at the ceiling. Marco exhaled slowly, letting out a small laugh. "Crazy day, huh," he said, rolling over to face Star. "Heh, yeah," Star said, turning to look at him. She let out a tiny yawn, and Marco couldn't help but smile. He booped her lightly on the nose. "Goodnight, Star," he whispered, closing his eyes.

"Goodnight, Marco."

 **If you like this story, and want to see new updates as soon as they're published, I'd highly recommend going over to my Wattpad account, StrayCloud. I don't check/use this website too often, but I'm very active on there. You can also contact me through iFunny (StrayCloud) and Instagram ( strayclouddraws). Thanks!**


	8. Chapter 8- Toffee

"Tell Star,"

 _ **"I'm coming for my finger."**_

There was nothing but darkness, across a vast sea of dark sludge. The foul mire was littered with golden clumps of various size. A tall, sleek figure sat cross-legged in the tenebrous environment. His elbow was propped up on his knee, and his slim snout rested in the palm of his hand. His gaze was fixated upwards, at his only window to the outside world. His lips were curved into a slight grin, razor-sharp teeth lining his top lip. He watched in amusement as his dim-witted host, the prince Ludo of Avarius, flipped carelessly through his stolen spellbook, reading aloud the little blurbs on each page. Glossaryck was entirely disinterested in the bird-monster's antics, keeping himself busy trying to roast pudding over a campfire. One of the writings which Ludo glossed over perked the interest of the septarian, a paragraph, written in Latin, describing a being with infinite power. _Go back_ , he instructed, hearing his words lost in the low, rumbling vibrato. "What, this?" Ludo questioned, pointing at the small passage. Next to it was a warning, which urgently stated for the words not to be read aloud. _Read it,_ the lizard ordered. "But it says here-"

 _ **NOW.**_

"Alright, alright," sheesh," Ludo said, rolling his eyes. He looked carefully at the text, trying to figure out how the strange words should be pronounced.

 _"Triangulum, entangulum. Meteforis dominus ventium, meteforis venetisarium."_

Nothing happened.

Ludo looked around for any sign of change, unable to find any. "Well I don't know what good that did," he griped. He yawned loudly, stretching his arms. "I'm going to bed." He hobbled over to the large bed of the abandoned monster temple, and climbed underneath the covers. As his eyes fluttered closed, the septarian's outlet to the world around him was severed, and he was engulfed in almost complete blackness. He was of course used to this by now, standing up and stretching his limbs. Just as he was preparing to settle down for the night, a brilliant blue light shone from the window behind him. He grabbed his wrist behind his back, a sinister grin forming on his lips.

"Hello, Bill."

"So tell me, Sevvy," Bill said, moving his chess piece telepathically, "why have you brought me here? This doesn't even look like the mindscape, to be honest," the triangle said, looking around at the dark abyss surrounding them. "That's because this isn't the mindscape," the other player said coolly, moving his own chess piece. "Check."

Bill gazed at the chessboard, mentally calculating his next move. "This is an extension of the void, the empty space connecting both halves of Star Butterfly's wand," the reptilian man continued. "This is my domain now." Bill straightened his bowtie, his eye fixated on his opponent. "Seems to me like you know what you're doing then. What do you need me for?"

"I'd like to make a deal with you," the Lizard said plainly, instantly intriguing the top hat wearing triangle. "Is that so?" he said in an almost sing-song voice, an inkling of a blue flame flickering to life in his outstretched palm. The flame died out almost instantly. "I thought I was gone for good when those stupid _Pines_ duped me into going into the mind of the wrong Stan, and then they erased me from the very fabric of time," Bill said solemnly. "I see," the bluish-gray septarian acknowledged. "In order for me to come back, I would have to take another form, in another time..." the equilateral fellow said, losing himself in thought. Ideas instantly flooded his mind, great waves clashing violently against each other. The brainstorm raged as his associate watched, before the tides calmed to a peaceful current, and the two evil geniuses exchanged a knowing look.

The immortal monster's smile grew ever more malevolent, and he extended his three-fingered hand.

"Do we have a deal?"

"I believe we do," the yellow being said eagerly, seizing the outstretched claw. Instantly their grasp set ablaze in a painless blue fire, and the triangle tipped his tall hat. The two parted ways, and the window flickered back on as Ludo awoke. "One last thing," the Lizard said, picking up his one last chess piece.

"Checkmate."

Bill was unfazed by his opponent's effortless win, and lifted himself up through the window he'd come from.

 **"See you later, Wally Gator."**

 **If you like this story, and want to see new updates as soon as they're published, I'd highly recommend going over to my Wattpad account, StrayCloud. I don't check/use this website too often, but I'm very active on there. You can also contact me through iFunny (StrayCloud) and Instagram ( strayclouddraws). Thanks!**


	9. Chapter 9- Daybreak

Sunlight filtered through the triangle-shaped window of the Pines twins' bedroom. Star's eyes fluttered open, and at first she was startled when she realized that she wasn't in her bed at the Diaz's. She then remembered what had happened the night before, and let out a small breath. She then noticed the arm draped over her torso, and the presence of another person snuggled quite close to her. Star suppressed the immediate urge to squeal as she realized Marco was spooning her. Internally collecting herself, she decided to not wake her sleeping friend, and instead cuddled closer to him, listening to his slow, steady breathing. She was just beginning to drift back to sleep when she heard a muffled gasp. Star opened her eyes to see Mabel sitting upright in her bed, covering her mouth with one hand and with the other pointing a quivering finger at her and her sleeping friend. Star blushed, rolling her eyes at the brunette. _You guys are SO CUTE,_ Mabel mouthed silently. Star couldn't help but agree with her, as she was in a state of pure bliss. From next to her, Star heard a small yawn, and turned her back to Mabel. She rolled over to face Marco as he awoke. She watched as his large brown eyes slowly opened, still heavy with sleep. When he registered who he was looking at, and who he had his arm around, all he could do was smile. "Good morning, Marco," Star whispered, running her hand through his messy hair. "Morning, Star," he breathed, gazing into her clear blue eyes. "Sleep well?"

"Like a baby," Star sighed happily, nestling her head under Marco's chin. The boy smiled, using the arm that was already draped around her small waist to pull her body closer to his, and her sweet, almost fruity scent overwhelmed him. He loved the way she smelled, as if she'd just washed her hair. Star was just content listening to the steady rhythm of Marco's heartbeat. The two cuddled for a bit, Mabel had fallen back asleep and neither of the other girls had even woken up yet. After about 5 minutes' time, Marco finally sat up, rubbing his eyes groggily. "I'm gonna go to the bathroom," he said, stepping gingerly off the bed and tiptoeing past the girls asleep on the floor. He left the room, only to poke his head back in the room with a nervous chuckle. "Second door to your left," Star said with a smirk, and the boy was gone again. Star had her wand at the ready, as Marco peeked his head back in seconds later, and Star poofed him an extra change of his normal attire. "You're the best, Star," he said over his shoulder, leaving the room for good this time.

Once the rest of the girls had awoken, they all exchanged morning greetings and changed out of their pajamas. Once everyone was dressed, they walked out of the bedroom, at the same time Marco opened the bathroom door, dressed and neatly groomed and looking fresh. They all walked down the stairs, and into the kitchen for breakfast. No one was prepared for what awaited them.

Sitting at the table, wearing a dark hooded cape, was a rather tall woman with pink diamonds on her cheeks. She had piercing blue eyes, but at the same time there was a glimmer of maternal kindness to them. She was sipping delicately at a cup of tea, staring blankly into space, something urgent obviously plaguing her mind. Sitting across the table from her was Ford, his hair uncharacteristically disheveled, and he had bags under his eyes. He too was sipping on a hot beverage, but his was black coffee.

Upon noticing the group of dumbfounded teens, the woman instantly stood up and walked over to Star. She pulled the hood off of her head, a long light blue braid falling down all the way to her knees. She also had bangs, which were nearly identical to Star's. The woman urgently placed her hands on the blonde girl's shoulders, completely ignoring the others. She looked deep into Star's eyes.

"Mom? What are you-" Star started, before the woman cut her off. "Star, I don't have time to explain, but suffice it to say, you are no longer safe here on Earth. We must leave for Mewni immediately." From the pocket of her hood, she pulls out two scissor blades, which Marco instantly recognized as having belonged to Hekapoo. She slashed through the air with both blades in an X-like motion, creating a blue portal. She took Star by the hand, pulling her through the portal with her, despite the princess's protests. "Wait, Mom, no! You can't do this, Marco, I never got a chance to tell you-!" she yelped urgently, before being yanked through the portal.

It closed instantly behind her.

 **If you like this story, and want to see new updates as soon as they're published, I'd highly recommend going over to my Wattpad account, StrayCloud. I don't check/use this website too often, but I'm very active on there. You can also contact me through iFunny (StrayCloud) and Instagram ( strayclouddraws). Thanks!**


	10. Chapter 10- Anomalies

Marco blinked, completely and utterly stunned by what had just happened. He tried to speak, but when he opened his mouth, no words came out. His eyes welled with tears, but he refused to cry in front of all these people he barely knew. "What," he finally managed to squeak. "What... just happened..."he trailed off, beginning to pace in circles, desperately fighting back tears. Ford stood up, and Marco stopped in his tracks. "You!" he snarled at the man, walking over to the table and slamming his hand on it. "I saw you talking to Star yesterday, who are you?! Why was Queen Moon here, and why did she take Star? I just got her back, I won't lose her again!"

Ford walked over to the distressed boy, and then looked at the group of girls, who hadn't dared to say a word. "Mabel," he said to his niece, "please have your friends go home now. I believe I need to chat with poor Marco here," he said, setting his coffee cup down on the table. Mabel nodded, and escorted Candy and Grenda to the door. "Come with me, boy," Ford said, walking to the living room. Dipper was reading his journal on the armchair, looking up as the two came in. "Oh hi, Marco," he said, putting his book down and walking over to him and his great uncle. "I heard some shouting, is... everything okay?"

"I'm afraid not, Dipper," Ford said, sitting down and interlocking his hands. "Say, would you mind if I borrowed the journal for a moment? There's something important I need to show Marco," he said. "Yeah, sure," Dipper complied, handing him the heavy red book. "Thank you, and also if you would go wake Stanley, I don't want to have to explain all of this twice."

"So... he's a triangle?"

Marco looked at the illustrations of the one they called Cipher, raising a doubtful eyebrow. "He's actually kinda cute." Dipper folded his arms, a grave expression on his face. "Yeah, but don't underestimate him, he'll stop at nothing to see our entire dimension destroyed."

"Dipper's right," Ford said, placing his hand on the journal's old, yellow page. Marco noticed for the first time that the older man had six fingers on each hand, and stifled a gasp. "Your... your hands..." Marco stuttered. "I thought only Glossaryck had six fingers."

"Yes, a fascinating anomaly indeed," Ford said, turning his hands over. "One of the reasons I came to this particular town to study" Marco blinked, returning his gaze to the opened page of the journal. "So you really think this Bill guy is still a threat? Sounds pretty dead to me," Marco said flatly. "You would think so," Stan piped up, "but a couple of days after I got my memories back, I had the weirdest dream. I told my brainiac brother here, and he hooked my head up to this mind-reading doohickey, and we managed to recover what we're pretty sure were Bill's final moments." Ford nodded. "Wait, you have a device that can read people's minds?" Marco questioned. "Yes sir, I managed to get Project Mentem up and running again to confirm that Stanley's dream was in fact something we should be concerned about." The hoodie clad boy gave the older man an intrigued look. "Well was it?" Ford stood up, and led the group to the vending machine, the entrance to his secret laboratory.

"I'll let you decide that for yourself."

*************************************  
The boys entered the private study, and Marco was instantly overwhelmed by all that he saw. Ford walked over to a desk, and grabbed a remote control. Pointing it at an array of TVs hanging on the wall, he pressed a button and the scene that Stan had described earlier played on the main screen. The short clip depicted Bill, shouting gibberish and contorting his body into strangely unsettling shapes. Stan then punched the triangle square in the face, and his form shattered into dust, before everything was consumed in blue fire. Marco's eyes darted across the screen, trying to make heads or tails of what he'd just seen. "So..." he said, gathering his thoughts," you're trying to tell me this guy's still alive?"

Ford said nothing as he pressed another button on the remote, and the clip began to play again, this time in reverse. Marco's jaw dropped as Bill's previously garbled speech became crystal clear. His hands trembled slightly, and his mind instantly flashed to Star. "W-what does all that mean? What did he spell, and how is he going to..." He cut himself off, unable to think clearly.

"Well," Ford said, setting down the small remote, "In regards to your first question, I'm not entirely sure yet. But I believe he was making a desperate plea to the one known as The Axolotl. I've studied it before," he said, grabbing the second journal from where is lay on another nearby desk. He flipped through the book before leaving it open on the table so everyone could see. It had a sketch of the creature on it, and various symbols were scattered about the page. "I believe The Axolotl is in fact omnipotent, and as such has intimate knowledge about Bill. After months of research and decoding, I finally managed to uncover some useful information."

He flipped a few more pages, which were covered in many of the same symbols, until he reached a page with legible English writing. "This," he said, tracing a finger over the small passage, "is all I managed to translate." He began to read aloud.

 _"Sixty degrees that come in threes._  
 _Watches from within birch trees._  
 _Saw his own dimension burn._  
 _Misses home and can't return._  
 _Says he's happy. He's a liar._  
 _Blame the arson for the fire._  
 _If he wants to shirk the blame,_  
 _He'll have to invoke my name._  
 _One way to absolve his crime._

 _ **"A different form, a different time."**_

 **If you like this story, and want to see new updates as soon as they're published, I'd highly recommend going over to my Wattpad account, StrayCloud. I don't check/use this website too often, but I'm very active on there. You can also contact me through iFunny (StrayCloud) and Instagram ( strayclouddraws). Thanks!**


	11. Chapter 11- Blue Moon

**From this chapter onward there will be major spoilers for The Battle For Mewni. Enjoy~**  
*************************************

"Mom, what in the _HECK_ was that?!"

Star yanked her wrist out of her mother's grip, absolutely fuming with anger. "Star," Moon said urgently, trying desperately to calm her infuriated daughter. "No, no, no, Mom, no!" the princess shouted, shooting her mother a defiant look. "I can't believe this! First I had to suffer though _stupid_ song day,"

"Star."

"And then by some miracle I managed to salvage my friendship with Marco,"

"Star!"

"And just when things are actually starting to seem normal again, you just swoop in and _literally snatch me away from him!"_

 _"STAR!"_

 _"WHAT?!"_

Moon looked deep into Star's eyes, and Star saw something in them that she had never seen in her mother before; _pain._ Star was taken aback by this sudden change in mood.

"Toffee... has returned."

Star sat alone in a small carriage, which was cluttered with weapons, books, and other items her mother had brought for their mission. She had also grabbed a what she could of Star's belongings from her room in the Diazs' house, along with one of Marco's hoodies as a memento. Star gazed sadly though her wand's spying spell at the brown haired boy, who was pacing in desperate circles in the Mystery Shack kitchen. "Oh, Marco," she sighed to herself, "why do you have to be such a cute... idiot..." she trailed off, lifting up the limp sleeve of the red hoodie she'd tied around her neck. She gave it a small sniff, before instantly pulling back in disgust. "Ew, Marco, yuck! When was the last time you washed this thing?"

"Star, we need to be quiet," Moon whispered harshly, "we don't know who might be listening." Star poked her head out the carriage door. "Sorry, Mom," she said, as the door flew off onto the dirt road, smashing into bits. "Sorry." She turned her gaze to the magical high commission, their black, lifeless eyes staring blankly into the dark night sky. "So how exactly are we gonna de-balloonify them?" Star asked, gesturing to their floating bodies. "Once we're at the sanctuary, the well of magic should be able to rejuvenate them," Moon said. "And Lekmet's gonna meet us there?" Star asked innocently. Moon glanced over to the hollow ram's horn, overfilled with the high chancellor's dusty remains. "Y-yes," Moon said quietly, gently sweeping the ash back into the horn. "He'll... meet us there."

After much hassle with the magical fritz and a run-in with some of Ludo's rats, they finally made it to the sanctuary. Once inside, Moon instantly got to work reviving the commission. She struggled to turn a valve, which brought up three large waterlily-like pods from the sanctuary pool. Star tied each of the commission members to a pod, and Moon turned the valve once more, opening the well spring. Star looked doubtfully up at the dark sludge that began to slide down the spout. "Is that stuff supposed to be all... black and goopy like that?"

"No, it's not!" Moon cried, grunting as she shut off the well. The two ran to see the inside of the well, shocked only to find more of the black muck bubbling at the bottom. "It's worse than I'd feared," Moon said, running back down the steps. "I guess we'll have to go with Plan B." Star walked beside her mother, wand in hand. "Alright, Plan B," she said, tightening her grip on the wand. "What's Plan B?" Moon let out a nervous chuckle. "Let's not worry about that right now," she said, obviously trying to dodge the question. She walked to a nearby shrub, and pulled back the leaves to reveal a vending machine full of various corn products. For a split second Star's mind flashed back to the one in the Mystery Shack, and she felt a pang of sadness. Moon looked through the glass frame before turning back to look at her daughter. "Now, would you like creamed corn or corned cream?"

"Wait, so you're saying we're just gonna hide here? That's your plan B?! That's a terrible Plan B!" Star said, throwing her arms out to her sides. "I didn't blow off my whole life just so you can give up." Moon strode up to her daughter, and swiftly tore off one of the sleeves of the red hoodie Star had around her neck. Star gasped as her eyes instantly filled with tears, though she didn't say a word as her mother began to tie it around her upper arm, effectively bandaging a painfully deep cut. "Your safety is my priority right now," Moon said sternly. "Our best bet is to lay low until the situation changes." Star struggled to keep her emotions in check, lifting her gaze from her newly mended wound to meet her mother's eyes. "You... lied to me..." she said, her voice wavering. "What else have you lied to me about?! I bet Lekmet isn't even meeting us here!"

 _"Lekmet is dead, Star!"_

Moon herself seemed taken aback by the power of her own words, and took a deep breath to recompose herself. She looked deep into her daughter's eyes. "And it could happen to us too. Toffee won't stop until he finds this," she said, pulling out a small, round glass bottle. She held it out to her daughter, letting her to get a good look at it. Star was shocked to see the severed finger she'd found in the Grandma Room of her wand. Her eyes widened. "Seriously, did you take that from my closet? And now you're just carrying it around?!" Moon let out an exasperated sigh, growing impatient with her stubborn daughter. "It's too dangerous to do anything but stay," she said, reaching out to touch her daughter's shoulder. Star pulled back, anger radiating off her small body. "I'm not gonna stay here until I'm old and gray like you," Star spat, her wand emitting an eerie green hue as she turned, aiming it at the wall. "Star, no! The wands are linked, he'll find us!"

"Why?! What happened to cool warrior queen mom?" Star asked, holding the glowing wand threateningly above her head. "I was never a cool warrior queen, Star," Moon said, "I was a happy-go-lucky girl like you. And then," she paused, her eyes welling with tears, "Toffee killed my mother." Moon sat down a nearby bench, covering her face as tears streamed freely down her cheeks. Star lowered her wand, and the green light faded. She walked over and sat beside her mother, her anger melting away into condolence. Star gently placed her wand in her mother's lap, and gave her a small, apologetic smile.

"Tell me."

 **If you like this story, and want to see new updates as soon as they're published, I'd highly recommend going over to my Wattpad account, StrayCloud. I don't check/use this website too often, but I'm very active on there. You can also contact me through iFunny (StrayCloud) and Instagram ( strayclouddraws). Thanks!**


	12. Chapter 12- Solicitude

*************************************  
Marco sat on the edge of Dipper's bed, his mind and heart racing. He was terrified of the thought of someone as dangerous as Toffee, which he'd seen for himself, and Bill, this new threat but he knew little to nothing about. He never felt so worried in his life, he didn't even want to think about something bad happening to his princess. _His_ princess.

He heard the bedroom door click open, and looked over to see Mabel, for the first time since that morning. She closed the door behind her, and took a seat next to the troubled boy. Marco looked away, not wanting this younger girl he just met to catch a misty-eyed. He nervously ran a hand through his hair. All the while, Mabel days up at him, kindness and sympathy gleaming in her eyes. "Hey... Marco..." she said softly, shifting her gaze to her feet. Marco acknowledged her only with a small sniffle, still facing away from her. "I know we don't really know each other... But Grunkle Ford said you could use someone your age to talk to, and to be honest we all know who is better at talking and teenage boys between my brother and me." She gave him a light, but playful nudge. He didn't react. Mabel grew serious again, twirling a strand of her hair around her finger. "Look," she said softly, "In the short time I spent with Star, she told me so much about you. She really loves you, you know," Mabel said sincerely. Marco's eyes widened, and he turned to look at her. "She... she loves me?" Mabel cracked a half-smile. "She wouldn't admit it, but that girl's head over heels for you."

Marco gazed down at his feet, which began kicking against the bed. A goofy smile crept onto his face, and he made no attempt to hide it. Mabel giggled at the rosy-cheeked boy. "So I take it you like her too, huh?" Marco's smile began to fade, as he began to realize what this all really meant. "I mean... Star's my best friend..." he started, "but... I have Jackie."

"Let me ask you this," Mabel said, crossing her legs, "what is is about Jackie that you like so much?" Marco thought about it for a minute, twiddling his thumbs. "I guess... I guess I just always kind of had this perfect image of her, and I thought if we spent more time together, and got to know each other better... she might see in me all the things I saw on her." Mabel gave an understanding nodded. "So you two are dating now, correct?" Marco gave a small nod. "How's that been going for you?"

Marco rubbed his arm nervously. "Well I mean, I think it's been alright. Jackie is definitely great, she's super nice and cool, it's just... I feel like there's just... something missing. Like something just isn't right about kissing and holding hands with her... it just feels off." A cloud drifted in front of the sun, causing the room to darken for a moment before lighting up again. "And what do you think that means?" Mabel asked. "I think it means... That maybe Jackie and I aren't meant to be together," he said softly. "I can't believe I was too blind to see it before." He looked up at Mabel, his eyes glistening in the sunlight that filtered in from the small window. "Thanks, Mabel." He held out his fist for a fist-bump, which Mabel ignored, instead booping him on the nose. Marco let out a light-hearted giggle, flashing the brunette a genuine smile. He pulled his phone out from his back pocket, and stared at its black screen. "I guess I have a phone call to make, huh?"

Mabel blinked at him. "Are you serious? You can't dump her over the phone!" she exclaimed. "You're already pretty much leaving her for your best friend and housemate for the past year, don't be a _total_ dick."

Marco was taken aback by this, and although he'd never considered it, there was some truth to Mable's words. "I guess I never thought of it like that... Hey, wait, I never said I was leaving her for Star!" Mabel shrugged innocently. "You didn't have to."

He replaced his phone in his pocket, and instead pulled out his dimensional scissors, staring at his reflection in the shiny blades for a moment. He turned his attention back to Mabel, a serious look on his face. "In that case-" he started, as there was a knock at the door. It clicked open, and Wendy start leaning against the door way. "Oh, hey guys, sorry if I'm interrupting anything," the redheaded girl said, taking a step towards them. "Stan just wanted me to remind you, Mabel, but he's taking you and Dipper out fishing today," she said. "Fishing?" I go to Marco, "but, I was hoping you guys could come with me to Echo Creek..." The hoodie-clad boy said meekly.

"Leaving Gravity Falls so soon?" Wendy said, putting her hand on her hip. "Bummer, you seemed like such a cool dude. Why do you want the Pines twins to tag along though?" Mabel hopped off the bed and made her way to the door. "He's just gonna go dump his girlfriend," Mabel said offhandedly. Wendy raised her eyebrows, and turned her attention to the young Latino. "Dumping someone, huh?" She said smoothly walking over to Marco as he stood up from the edge of the bed. "In that case," she said, draping an arm around her shoulder, "you don't need those two; you need me."

Marco stiffened slightly at the sudden contact between him and the older girl, and he gently grabbed her wrist and removed it from his shoulders. Wendy was unfazed, still giving him a cheeky grin. "All right then, if you say so," he said, snipping open a portal. "Sweet," Wendy said, examining it as Marco stepped through. "I always wanted to go to California."

 **If you like this story, and want to see new updates as soon as they're published, I'd highly recommend going over to my Wattpad account, StrayCloud. I don't check/use this website too often, but I'm very active on there. You can also contact me through iFunny (StrayCloud) and Instagram ( strayclouddraws). Thanks!**


	13. Chapter 13- Silver Lining

Wendy followed Marco through the blue portal, and upon entering it, she found herself now in a rather dull bedroom. She looked around, immediately noticing that there was a sizable chunk of the roof missing, letting the room fill with the orange light of the sunset. "What the heck?" she said aloud, looking over at Marco. "This is Star's room... or was, I guess," he sighed. He plopped himself down on her bed, which was now downgraded to a regular twin size with plain beige sheets. He brought his hand up to his face, visibly stressed. "I can't believe I'm really going to break up with Jackie... All those years of crushing on her just to let her go once I finally have her."

"So this Jackie, you're saying she's like, your dream girl?" Wendy asked, her gaze still fixated upwards. Silver clouds roll across the twilight, the sky stained with shades of orange, blue and pink. "Well I mean, I always thought she was, but around when Star came into my life, I kinda started having second thoughts." Wendy uttered a small chuckle. "And you don't think there's a chance that there's any correlation?" she said. Marco open his mouth to respond, but found himself at a loss for words. He shut his mouth again, looking down at the floorboards as his cheeks grew slightly pink. Wendy just giggled. "I thought so."

She approached him, getting down on one knee so they were at eye level. "Dude, take it from me. As someone who's been in a lot of relationships I'm kind of an expert," she said with a laugh. "Seriously though, if it doesn't feel right, you gotta go with your gut. Don't just hang onto it because you feel like you owe it to yourself." Marco nodded slowly, standing up as did Wendy. "Well," said Marco, opening the bedroom door, "let's go, then."

Jackie sat on her sofa, only half paying attention to the movie playing on her TV as she texted back and forth with Janna. She was surprised when she heard a knock on the front door, and looked through the window to see who it could be at this hour. She saw a girl not much older than herself, wearing a green flannel shirt and a brown lumberjack hat. Although Jackie didn't recognize her, she seemed trustworthy enough, so she went and opened the door. Upon doing so, she was able to get a close look at the stranger. Her cheeks were dotted with freckles, and her eyes were emerald green. She seemed relaxed, although she clearly had a purpose for being here. She put a hand on her hip, leaning down slightly as she was so tall. "Jackie Lynn Thomas?" the girl spoke, holding up a finger gun. "Yeah, that's me..." Jackie said, lowering an eyebrow, "do I know you?"

"Nope," the girl said, extending a hand. "Wendy Corduroy." Jackie shook it cautiously. "Marco just wanted me to tell you," Wendy continued, "that he kinda wants to talk to you about something important. He said to meet him in the park, he's already waiting for you." Jackie was surprised, Marco had never done something like this before. "How do you know Marco?" Jackie asked, crossing her arms. "Oh, he... uh..." Wendy said, trying to think of how to explain the situation. "I'm... just looking after him." Jackie looked doubtfully at her, and Wendy defensively crossed her arms. "Dude, for real? He's a little young for me."  
Jackie sighed, deciding not to think anything of it. "Alright, well thanks for telling me," Jackie said, grabbing her skateboard from where it lay propped against the wall. "I'll be right there."

As Jackie approached the park, she immediately spotted a hooded figure sitting alone on the bench. She hopped off her skateboard, kicking back as she did so the board jumped up into her arms. Jackie approached him slowly, and he didn't look up from his twiddling thumbs even after she sat down beside him. "Marco..." she said softly, "what's going on? I haven't seen you in like forever dude, you weren't even at your own house for the end-of-the-year party. Are you okay?" Jackie lightly lifted his chin so she could look into his eyes. "Talk to me."

"I..." Marco started, cringing as his voice cracked. "I'm sorry... Jackie." He spoke barely above a whisper, his hands trembling slightly. "I'm breaking up with you." Jackie let out a tiny gasp, tears springing into her eyes. She stood in shock for a moment, before shaking her head slightly and forcing herself to smile. She gently placed a hand on his shoulder, and their eyes met. "This..." Jackie squeaked, tears trailing down her freckled cheeks, "This is about Star, isn't it, Marco?"

Marco's eyes widened, and his face instantly went red. "W-what, no, I just-" he started, but he was cut off as Jackie gently placed a finger over his lips. Her lips quivered, but she kept her smile as she cried softly. "It's okay," she whispered, "I had a feeling this would happen." She sniffled softly. "She's one lucky girl." Marco said nothing as she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek, whispering in his ear, "Go get her."

Marco blinked a few times, staring at her in disbelief. "You... you're taking this exceptionally well..." he said quietly, his gaze lowering again. "Dude, no offense," she said, "but you're really obvious when you like someone. I should know," she said with a smirk. Marco blushed hard, he knew she was right. "I hope we can still be friends, Jackie," he said softly. Jackie extended her arms, a twinkle in her eye. "Friends?"

"Friends," Marco said, graciously accepting the hug. He stood up after a moment, walking slowly in the direction of his home. He met up again with Wendy, who'd been watching from a distance. "She took it well then?" the redhead asked. "Yeah, she really did. You ready to go, then?"

"Hang on, kid, this girl may have taken it well but it doesn't mean she's not still hurt. Let me go talk to her," Wendy said, fixing her hat as she walked back to the bench where Jackie still sad. Wendy took a seat beside her, where Marco had been. Jackie looked up her, a look of confusion on her face. Her eyes searched Wendy's, and Jackie saw only empathy and kindness.

"W-Wendy?" Jackie asked. "What are you doing here?" Wendy crossed her legs and rested her elbow on the bench, turning to face Jackie. "I know we literally don't even know each other, but I for one know firsthand what it's like to have your heart broken," Wendy said comfortingly. Jackie gave a thankful smile. "If you ever wanna rant to someone about stupid boys being stupid boys, hit me up, 'kay?" "Thanks, dude," Jackie said, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"No problem, dude," Wendy said, standing up. "Your girl Wendy up in Gravity Falls has got your back. Hey, why don't you give me your phone number, and later we can get to know each other better?" the redhead suggested. "Yeah, sounds good," Jackie replied, taking out her cell phone. The two exchange contact info, and shared a first-bump before Jackie hopped back on her skateboard and rode home. Wendy strolled back to where Marco was waiting for her, and again they went through the portal back to Gravity Falls.

 **If you like this story, and want to see new updates as soon as they're published, I'd highly recommend going over to my Wattpad account, StrayCloud. I don't check/use this website too often, but I'm very active on there. You can also contact me through iFunny (StrayCloud) and Instagram ( strayclouddraws). Thanks!**


	14. Chapter 14- Retrospect

As Marco stepped through the portal, he saw that the twins along with Stan and Ford were all watching Ducktective in the living room. Dipper looked over at the two newcomers, and immediately came over to greet them. "Hey Marco, hey Wendy, how'd it go?" He addressed them both, but only seemed to care what Wendy had to say. He peered up at her, eagerly awaiting her response. "It went pretty well, actually," Wendy said, gently dismissing her young admirer. "She was pretty mature about it, and seemed like a pretty chill girl. I even got her contact info, just in case any of you dweebs decide to bail on me and I need a new friend," she said, playfully nudging Dipper, who of course blushed. "Oh, please, you know you can't get rid of us so easily," Mabel chimed in, pointing at herself with her thumbs. "We're irreplaceable."

"Got that right," Wendy replied, shooting a finger gun at the brunette. "Well I'm clockin' out. See ya, Mr. Pines!" she called to Stan, walking out the front door. Marco walked over to the spare room, opening the door slowly. "You guys mind if I crash in here?" he said quietly. Everyone shook their heads. "Okay thanks. Goodnight, everyone," he said, closing the door behind him. Dipper and Mabel exchanged a look, both concertgoer Marco. Mabel began to stand up, but Dipper stopped her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I got this," he said, smiling at his sister.

Marco sat on the long couch of the spare room, his head hung low and his hands on his face. He felt alone and powerless, and he missed Star more than ever. He pulled his hoodie over his head, letting out a low sigh. He was so lost in thought that he hardly noticed the light knock at the door. "Come in," he said softly. He looked up to see Dipper standing on the other side, carrying a folded blanket and a rather soft-looking pillow. "Mabel wanted me to give you these," he said, setting them down on the edge of the sofa. "Thanks, you guys, I really appreciate it," Marco said, not looking up as he slowly twiddled his thumbs. Dipper could tell he was trying to sound genuine, but he was just too sad. Dipper sat beside him with a sigh. "Listen, man," he said, removing his hat, "I honestly don't know exactly what you're going through right now. But I mean, at least you were lucky enough to get a girl in the first place," he said, looking off to the side as he spoke. "I really liked Wendy," he continued, "but when she found out, she totally rejected me. She said I was just too young for her." Marco felt a pang of sympathy for the boy. "Wow, that's rough," he said, to which Dipper just shrugged. "I mean, I still think she's really pretty, but since then I kinda gave up, and realized it just wasn't meant to be." Marco nodded. "Guess we're kind of in the same boat then, except I think I might actually have a rebound crush," he said with a nervous smile. "Sounds like we're in exactly the same boat then," Dipper said to himself, raising his eyebrows. "What was that?" Marco asked. "Oh, n-nothing," Dipper stammered, quickly standing up and walking to the door. "See you in the morning!"

Marco chuckled at Dipper's antics, shaking his head slowly. He unfolded the blanket, and found it to be delightfully soft. He settled in, taking off his hoodie and balling it up before placing it gently on the foot of the couch. He sighed, slowly letting himself drift into sleep.

 _The room was filled with scarlet light as two souls danced their cares away. Star and Marco twirled about, lost in each other's eyes. As the organ's song came to an elegant close, Marco dipped his partner and leaned in for a tender kiss. Just as their lips were about to touch, something wrapped itself around Star's waist, and yanked her away from him. The red light instantly vanished, and the room was now dark and empty. Marco was shocked to see Toffee, his tail coiled tightly around Star's body, completely restraining her. Marco tried to charge at him, but found himself suddenly unable to move, and looked down to see he was strapped to a metal chair, tight clamps around his wrists. "Poor little Butterfly's lost her wings," Toffee said smugly, lifting Star's chin with his finger. He removed his tail from around her, only to shove her to the ground, and she cried out in pain. The Lizard once again used his tail to grab Star, this time by her wrists, and lift her to her feet, though now she was too weak to fully support her own weight. Marco watched in horror as Toffee placed his sharp claws on Star's small chest, and began to drag them down her body, effectively shredding her beautiful pink and white ball gown. Marco screamed and sobbed his protest, unable to watch as more and more fabric fell to the ground, leaving Star's young body highly exposed. "Leave her alone!" he screamed._

 _ **"LEAVE HER ALONE!"**_

Marco gasped as his head flew off his pillow, his heart beating at an alarmingly high rate. It took his eyes a minute to adjust to the near pitch-black room, and the tears that were rapidly forming and spilling over weren't much help. He grabbed his bundled-up hoodie, and traced a rip in its waistband with his finger. It was the only identifying mark of the hoodie Star had worn the night she'd kept him and herself up with her sleep-spelling. It had gotten caught on one of the unruly brambles of their living-room jungle, and Star had of course apologized profusely. Marco didn't care too much, he had a closet full of them anyway. She'd looked so cute wearing it, and thinking back to that memory only made him miss her that much more. He trembled slightly as he clutched it to his chest, and cried himself softly back to sleep.

 **If you like this story, and want to see new updates as soon as they're published, I'd highly recommend going over to my Wattpad account, StrayCloud. I don't check/use this website too often, but I'm very active on there. You can also contact me through iFunny (StrayCloud) and Instagram ( strayclouddraws). Thanks!**


	15. Chapter 15- Foolhardiness

Marco's eyes opened slowly, still heavy with sleep. He had a throbbing headache, and his whole body was sore. It'd been a pretty tough night of tossing and turning, and provided that there was very little room on his makeshift bed, he'd awoken with a thud on the floor more than once. He rubbed his face sluggishly, feeling the dried tear streaks on his cheeks. He didn't know how, but Toffee was definitely back, and still very much a threat. A spark ignited in his heart, a dire hatred for the septarian. In that moment, Marco knew he was willing to do whatever it took to make sure that Star was safe, even if it cost him his life.

When Marco made it to the kitchen, he was overwhelmed with the delicious aroma bacon and pancakes. It didn't look like the twins were up yet, and he followed the scent to the kitchen, where Ford stood effortlessly flipping pancakes. "Good morning, Marco," he greeted the boy, not looking up from his work. He looked over his shoulder at the boy, a knowing smile on his face. "You hungry?"

"Mmhm," Marco said eagerly, graciously accepting the plate of food that Ford held out to him. "Good thing I made plenty," Ford said, serving himself a sizable stack of pancakes as well. "You seemed like an early bird." Marco sat at the table and began eating quietly. Ford sat at the other end of the table, and munched on a strip of bacon. "So," Ford began, "what's the game plan?" Marco's eyes narrowed as he took another bite. "Kill Toffee and save Star," he said indignantly. Ford scoffed at him. "Good start, kiddo, but that sounds more like a wish list than it does a plan of action." He took out a small notebook and a pen. "We're all going into this together, so I'd recommend-"

"No," Marco interrupted. "We're _not_ going into this together. Star's _my_ best friend, and _I'm_ gonna be the one to save her," he said, defiantly biting into his pancake. Ford's eyes widened, and he lowered the coffee mug he was about to take a sip from. "Now, listen here, boy," he said sternly, "you don't know what you're dealing with. Toffee on his own is dangerous enough, and for all we know Bill could be working him!" He looked intently at Marco. "Dude, Bill's probably still dead!" Marco said, standing up from the table. "And even if he's not, I'm not afraid of either of them, because Star's well-being is the only thing that matters." Marco turned his back to the man, taking his dimensional scissors out of his pocket and forcefully stabbed the air, creating a swirling blue portal. "Marco, stop, you'll get yourself killed!" Ford exclaimed, reaching out to grab the stubborn boy's arm. Marco yanked it back, shooting the man an deathly glare. "Then so be it," he said coldly, as he turned his back and walked through the portal.

As he stepped through, Marco found himself face-to-face with a choir of young children. They all stopped their singing upon his arrival, and they all looked at him in fear. He was very confused, until he looked behind him and saw Ludo, wearing what looked to be King River's crown. Ludo stared blankly at him for a moment, before his expression grew dark and he smiled gravely. He snapped his fingers, and instantly rats charged from all directions at Marco, who instinctively snapped into karate-mode. He skillfully threw his kicks and punches, managing to fight off the rats for a good while. But as more and more of them showed up, it eventually became too much for Marco. He was unable to keep up, and the rats managed to take him down. He struggled as they took hold of his limbs, and then proceeded to carry him down to the dungeon. They flung him harshly into the chamber, and he hit the ground with a thud. He was immediately locked into restraints, and at this point everything seemed hazy. The room seemed to spin, and Marco struggled to see straight. Suddenly, everything went black.

***********************************  
When he came to, Marco found himself shackled to the wall in a dark room. His eyes took a moment to adjust, and he felt another presence in the room with him. He looked over to his left to see King River, looking at him with a worried expression. "Are you alright, Marco?"

Marco looked himself over, not seeing any visible injuries. "Yeah, I'm okay... where are we?" River sighed. "We're in the dungeon." Marco's heart sank. "T-the dungeon? B-but how, and why?" he struggled to say. "I'm afraid Ludo's taken over Butterfly Castle," River said bleakly. Marco slumped limply against the wall, banging his head against it in frustration. "And now we're his prisoners?" he said, desperately hoping that the obvious wasn't actually true. "Afraid so," the king said.

Marco closed his eyes slowly, pressing himself harder against the wall. He'd been so blinded by his determination to be Star's heroic savior that within 60 seconds of being on Mewni he'd gotten himself captured. His heart welled with emotion, but he refused to let it show. He took a deep breath, hanging his head and looking down at his shoes. "Guess we're gonna be here a while."

"Checkmate."  
River grunted as he strained to move a dead beetle with his toes. Marco sighed, staring blankly at the sad-looking makeshift chessboard. "I'm bad at everything." River smirked. "First rule of chess, Marco: you must always protect your king."

A small sound caught Marco's attention, a chime all too familiar to the dimension-hopping teen. He snapped his head up to see a blue portal pop into existence a few feet in front of them. Marco looked doubtfully at the portal, mentally preparing himself for who or what could have opened it. The portal stood still for a few moments before someone hurled through, a feminine voice confidently yelling a less-than-threatening war cry as they crashed to the ground. Marco was baffled, but couldn't see the newcomer's face under the mass of thick brown hair. He quickly realized it was Mabel, as she sprang up and dusted herself off before giving Marco a cheeky grin.

"Need a hand?"


	16. Chapter 16- Great Escape

"Need a hand?"

Marco struggled for words, blinking several times to confirm what he saw in front of him. There stood Mabel, and behind her emerged her brother and Wendy as well. Marco was beyond dumbfounded at this point, and River was just confused. "M-mabel," Marco finally choked, not wanting to make eye contact, "how did you get here?"

"You left _these_ behind," she said, holding up a small pair of shiny crystalline scissors, which Marco instantly recognized. _Manfred's scissors,_ he thought, cursing himself. Mabel handed them to Wendy, who pocketed them in the back of her jeans. Marco turned away from them, the shame and embarrassment settling in. "Where's Ford?" he asked, not lifting his gaze. "He stayed behind to research more on Toffee," Dipper spoke. Mabel took a step closer to the young boy, examining him closely as he hesitantly lifted his eyes to meet her stare. "Now..." She said, bringing her finger to her lips, "how are we gonna bust you guys outta here?"

"Hold up, I got an idea," Wendy said, reaching into her back pocket and pulling out a small white lotion bottle. "It's so hard hiding this stuff from Gideon, man," she said, walking over and dripping some onto Marco's chained wrists. He manages to get his right hand free, but as Wendy tried to squeeze more of the moisturizer for his other hand, only a few drops came out before the bottle began to splutter. It was enough to get him out from the chain, but then their gaze fell on the king. "Shoot, that's all I have..." Wendy said, giving River an awkwardly apologetic look. "Don't worry, my dear, I'll be fine," he said, puffing out his chest. "You kids go save my daughter."

The four of them crawled silently through the air ducts, being extra careful not to make any loud noises. At the front of the group, Marco spotted a dim light up ahead, and upon further inspection he saw that it was the vent leading up to the royal bedroom, where he could clearly see Ludo sound asleep in the King and Queen's bed. He quickly and wordlessly showed the rest of the group, who all nodded in understanding. Marco dropped down first, instinctively landing in a precautionary fighting stance. Wendy and the twins followed suit, and all four surveyed the room. Almost instantly they noticed a trio of Mewmans socializing and eating in the corner of the room. Marco instantly recognized the songstrel Ruberiot, and he could tell by their attire that other two must be a mime and a fool duke. The trio stood frozen as they stared down the new arrivals, neither party daring to say a word. Marco glared at Ruberiot, his mind going back to the Song Day, the day Star fled to Gravity Falls. Ruberiot gulped nervously at the teen's unwavering stare, and the Mewmans slowly inched out of the room before fleeing down the hall. _Good riddance,_ Marco thought to himself, his expression not changing as he turned to face his companions. "Don't ask," he said in a monotone whisper as he turned his attention to the sleeping Ludo. A small twinkle caught his eye, noticing a golden key around Ludo's neck as his tiny chest rose and fell. He knelt to the ground and crept to the side of the bed, reaching up and feeling around for it. Once he felt the key's smooth surface, he tried to quickly yank it off, but instead found himself holding Ludo's entire small body. Ludo's eyes flew open in shock, and Marco threw him back onto the bed and ducked for cover. "What? Who's there?!" Ludo cried, still very disoriented. He quickly crawled over the side of the bed, and spotted Marco crouched next to a pile of rather disturbing King Ludo masks. "Who are you?" Ludo questioned, sitting up with suspicion. "Uh," Marco stammered, quickly snatching one of the masks and slapping it on, "g-guy in a mask."  
Ludo looked doubtfully back at him, but Mabel jumped in before he could say anything.

"We're here to... perform for you!" she yipped, before eagerly shoving her twin forward. Dipper shot his sister a look of betrayal, to which the perky girl just shrugged. Wendy gave him a thumbs up, to which he just sighed, rolling his eyes and removing his cap. He cleared his throat, kneeling and putting on a sad-looking display of jazz hands. "Welllll..."

Mabel hopped onto the bed next to Ludo as her brother sang, giving the monster a wide-eyed, bubbly grin. "Can I braid your beard?" she asked, an irresistibly adorable twinkle in her eyes. "I suppose..." Ludo said, leaning back. Mabel instantly grabbed his overgrown facial hair, quickly weaving it into a surprisingly intricate braid.

"So march, march, march around the daisies! Don't, don't , don't you forget about the ba-by!" Dipper finished the song by cutely pressing his index finger into his cheek, figuring he couldn't possibly be any more humiliated than he already was. At least it wasn't the first time he'd embarrassed himself with the lamby lamby dance, he thought, and again in front of Wendy.

Ludo clapped hesitantly at Dipper's questionable performance, mostly out of confused pity. "Yes, well..." he said, lifting his newly-styled beard so he could see it, "t-thank you...? For.. whatever just happened."

"Anytime, man," Wendy said, pointing finger guns at the small bird monster. The group left quickly, Marco utterly confused and somewhat upset. "Um..." he started, "what the heck was all that?! We didn't even get the key!"

"Oh, didn't we?" Mabel said, holding up what Marco recognized to be the same key Ludo had tied around his neck. "Who says hair-braiding isn't a necessary survival skill," she said, tossing the key to Marco. The hoodie-clad boy caught it in his hands, still rendered dumbfounded and speechless. Mabel patted him on the back, giving him a reassuring grin.

"C'mon, let's go get our friend."


	17. Chapter 17- Needless Words

_Star writhed underneath the sticky webbing encasing her to the floor, barely able to lift her head high enough to see Ludo's face. He seemed to be preoccupied with his wand, speaking to it in a hushed whisper. "Ludo, stop!" the princess cried, still trying desperately to wriggle herself free. "The wands are corrupt!" Ludo just shooed her away, at which several rat guards picked her up, still bound by the spiderwebs, and carried her to the dungeon. She kicked and screamed her protests, to no avail. "Ludo, please!" she cried._

 _"It's Toffee!"_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Star leaned awkwardly against the dungeon wall, the handcuffs around her wrists proving to be very uncomfortable. She let out a sigh of defeat, hanging her head. There was some banging outside the dungeon door, and Star looked up again, perplexed and intrigued. The door open slowly, and Star braced herself for the worst. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut, trembling slightly in fear. After about one minute of hearing nothing, she slowly opened one eye to see a person with a mouse costume staring back at her. The mouse reached up and pulled its head off, revealing itself to be none other than Marco, in the flesh.

He gave her a warm smile, untying the key from around his neck as he walked over to her. Without saying a word, he unlocked her cuffs, his smile widening. Once she was free, Star looked down at her wrists, which were red from where the cuffs had restrained her. She rubbed them slightly, trying to soothe the pain. Marco gently placed his hand under her chin, and with his thumb wiped away the tear that was slowly rolling down her heart-shaped cheek emblem.

He lifted her head so he could see her face, and grabbed both her hands in his. "Right before you left," Marco said quietly, gazing deep into her eyes, "you said you want to tell me something." Star's pupils shrunk, and Marco felt her palms grow sweaty. "What was it?"

"OK, I guess this is really happening," Star said, only half to herself. "Look, Marco..." she started, looking up to meet his gaze. "I don't really know how to tell you this, because you're my best friend... and that makes the super weird because... I... I..." She struggled to keep a steady tone of voice.

"I do have a crush on you."

She immediately looked down, beginning to anxiously twirl a strand of her hair around her finger. "I didn't want to admit it because I know you don't feel the same way, and I thought-" she was cut off as Marco once again lifted her chin, only this time he put both his hands on her face, and pulled her into a soft, tender kiss. Star was shocked, but of course returned the kiss, wrapping her arms around Marco's neck as he moved his down to her waist.

The kiss didn't last nearly as long as the two felt it did, and after a few moments they separated. Still embracing each other tightly, the two just stared into each other's eyes, Marco's face already bright red as he gave her a sheepish smile. He removed his hands from her, and she did the same. "Well," Star said, clapping her hands together, "that went better than I thought it would."

Marco giggled. "C'mon, let's get outta here." Star nodded. Marco cupped his hands around his mouth, and whistled like a bird a couple of times. The cover of the vent above them popped off, and Star gasped happily as she saw a familiar face. "Wendy!" she cheered. Wendy smiled, extending a hand to her. With a boost from Marco, Star was able to join her in the air duct. She was very happy to see the young twins were there as well. "Star!" yipped Mabel. "Mabel!" Star responded eagerly, hugging her. She noticed Mabel's brother smiling at her. "Dipper," she acknowledged, giving the boy an upwards nod.

"Marco!"

Everyone turned to the hoodie-clad boy, who'd just cheered his own name. He instantly lowered his fist which was enthusiastically clenched in the air, and awkwardly cleared his throat. "Right then," he said, avoiding eye contact. "Let's get a move on."

The group walked silently down the large, dark corridors of Butterfly Castle, listening intently for any sounds of guards. In one hand, Star held up her wand, emitting a faint pink glow that was just bright enough to illuminate the path directly in front of them. In the other, she held tightly onto Marco, feeling the nervous twitches of their interlocked fingers. Dipper and Mabel held hands as well, and Wendy brought up the rear, combat-ready at the slightest possible sign of trouble.

As they turned a corner, the group found themselves face to face with Spider and Eagle, who were asleep, but awoke upon seeing the pink light. Eagle's eyes zeroed on on them. Star gulped.

"Uh-oh."

The teens squirmed and kicked against their chains, and Marco let out a frustrated sigh. "How many times is this gonna happen?!"

As if on cue, the cell door unlocked and Ludo's tiny figure stood on the other side. Wendy threw some slurs at him, which he chose to ignore. Everyone watched in shock as he unlocked Star's cuffs. Ludo pointed his palm at Star, the cracked gem on his hand glowing as he said, "Levitato." A green light instantly engulfing her body, and Ludo lifted her up and back out the door with him. Marco yelled back at Ludo to give her back, tears forming in his eyes as he dangled powerless from the chains. _This could not be happening again._

Star kicked her legs midair, trying unsuccessfully to free herself from Ludo's spell. He took her out to a castle terrace, and set her gently down on her feet _._

"What do you want from me, Ludo?" Star snapped at him. "Haven't you put everyone through enough already?!"

"Actually," he started, "you said something earlier about my, um... about my..." He cleared his throat, putting his wand hand behind his back. "about my W-O-N-D." Star rolled her eyes at his misspelling. "Oh, so _now_ you want my help?" she jabbed at him.

"Of course I want help!" Ludo retorted. "I've been talking to my own hand! It keeps me up all night! I can't sleep, I can't think!" He began to pace "I can't focus on my new job as Mewni's beloved monarch!" Suddenly the wand hand glowed the same green, and point at Star. Star blinked in surprise, locking eyes with the small bird. "It's corrupted," she said solemnly, "by Toffee. He's in the wands, Ludo."

Ludo paused, processing this new information. "In the wa- in the wands?!" He began frantically pacing in circles, rapidly shaking his extended arm. "Get him out! I don't want to be corrupted! I don't want to be corrupted! How did he even get in there? _How_ did he even get _in there_?!"

"I don't know how he got in there," Star admitted. "The last time I saw him, he-" Star gasped, putting a hand over her mouth. "Ohhh!" She quickly dropped down to one knee, opening her hand to him. "Ludo, please," she said with a small sigh,

"I think I know how to get Toffee out."


	18. Chapter 18- A Different Time

Marco slumped down as far as he could, lost in his own dark thoughts. Wendy was still shouting rather profane insults to the outside guards, not caring at this point that she was with all kids younger than herself. Dipper and Mabel were also yelling their protests, though their vocal chords starting to grow tired. After several minutes, two rat guards finally opened the cell door, both plugging their ears and clearly fed up with the ruckus. Marco looked up at them, rage beginning to broil through his bloodstream. One of the rats was armed with a spear, and as he approached Marco, his pent up emotions got the best of him. In one fluid movement, Marco kicked the spear out of the rat's hands, and immediately brought his foot back and roundhouse kicked the rat square in the side of the face with his heel. The guard was sent flying across the cell, greatly winded but somehow still conscious. The other rat picked up the spear, bringing it dangerously close to Marco's cheek. The boy closed his eyes, bracing himself for the worst, when he heard the sound of the guards being beaten up. "Karate boy," a Russian voice said calmly. He opened his eyes, and found himself looking at a familiar face. "Buff Frog!"

Buff Frog hurled the rats at the cell wall, shattering it completely and leaving a gaping hole in the wall. "And..." Buff Frog said, stepping aside to reveal Queen Butterfly. She gasped upon seeing all of them. She rushed over to Marco, her cheek emblems glowing white as she effortlessly slashed his chains off with her bare hand. "Where's Star," she asked urgently as Marco rubbed his wrists. "Ludo took her," Dipper piped up. Mabel nodded. "We have to get her before he does something awful!" Moon freed the rest of them, turning back to Buff Frog. "We have to go," she said urgently. "What about them?" Marco asked, gesturing to Wendy and the twins. "Don't worry," Mabel said, holding up her grappling hook, "we're right behind you."

Buff Frog held tightly onto Marco and the Queen, jumping from balcony to balcony. Wendy soared behind them, Dipper's face completely red as he and his sister clutched tightly onto the older girl. Landing on one of the balconies, Moon saw her daughter one one knee, talking to someone below her line of sight. From within the balcony, Ludo held out his wand arm, allowing Star to hold it loosely in her hands. She began whispering to it, and the half-star faded to black. Everyone watched as she stood up, and looked back at them with teary eyes. "Hi, Mommy," she said with a tiny wave, "hey guys." A tiny unicorn floated beside her face, giving a sharp whinny. "I'm sorry," she said softly.

Moon's eyes widened with realization, her own eyes filling with tears. "The Whispering Spell..." Tears streamed down her face, slamming her fists onto the balcony wall. "Star, you get away...!" the Queen sobbed, "you run away from there!"

"It's too late," Star said solemnly. Ludo looked up at the Mewman princess happily. "So does this mean that everything's back to normal?" Star looked down, a single tear falling to the balcony floor. "It's not over yet." The crystal suddenly beamed bright green, sending an electrifying green beacon into the sky, before exploding and taking the whole tower down with it. "Buff Frog!" Moon cried, "we have to go now!"

Everyone ran to where the huge tower had previously stood, a giant crater now in its place. The dust cleared, and only Ludo lay unconscious on the ground. Moon rushed to him, grabbing his tiny figure and vioroudly shaking him. "Ludo! Where's Star?!" Ludo slowly opened his eyes, revealing nothing but bright pink. "Mom, Mom! It's me!" Ludo spoke, not in his own voice, but Star's. "Star!" Queen Butterfly said, quickly embracing the small bird tightly. She looked deep into the glowing pink eyes, searching them frantically. "Where are you?"

"I... don't exactly know... where I am," Star said meekly. "Stay where you are," Moon spoke firmly, "and no matter w- we'll fi-"

Ludo's eyes fluttered closed.

"Mom... uh, can you repeat that? Mommy...?" Fear settled into Star's stomach as her connection to her mother was severed. "Hello...?" she called into the darkness. She was waist deep in a dark, murky ooze, The sea of sludge began to ripple around her, waves rising and falling threateningly. Star jumped back as an enormous, wide yellow eye emerged from below, the sliver of a pupil locking onto her. Another glowing eye emerged as well, the rising mass taking the form of a reptilian head. Two pillars shot up as well, taking the shape of two enormous claws, one of them missing the middle finger. The head gave Star a big, toothy grin, a wild look in its eyes. _Toffee_ , Star thought fearfully. He spoke, but not in Toffee's usual, smooth-sounding voice. "Hello, princess," he said, his voice high pitched and maniacal. "You... don't sound like Toffee... or really look like him either," Star observed, gazing up at the huge, glowing yellow eyes. " _How_ _interesting_ ," he said, chuckling and leaning his massive, dripping snout right up to Star's face. He turned his head slightly to keep her out of his blind spot. "Well, _sweetheart_ ," he spoke, poking her heart-shaped cheek marks with an oozing finger, "I'm _outta here!_ "

He flicked open his hand, reviving the window to the outside world. From the outside, Moon scrambled back as Ludo's body levitated up, his eyes flying open to reveal the same, glowing yellow eyes Toffee now had. Wendy and the twins gasped, backing away in fear, as Ludo began to laugh a terrifyingly bubbly, distorted laugh. This of course prompted a flurry of panicked questions from Queen Moon. "What is that?! That's not Toffee, do you know anything about this?!" Dipper stepped forward, removing his cap and looking Moon in the eyes. "It's Bill, ma'am," he said. "Bill Cipher."


	19. AN- Q&A Announcement!

Hey guys!

As you know, I've been posting these chapters from my book over on Wattpad, and I'm pretty happy with it, and all the wonderful feedback I've gotten from readers :)

So, in honor of 100 votes and over 2k reads, I'm holding a Q and A!

Comment questions here (or preferably on Wattpad if you have an account ) for anyone (yes, anyone!) from either the Star vs the Forces of Evil or Gravity Falls universe, or even me!

See y'all soon, and thank you!

-Cloudy


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